Friday, August 17, 2012

Ctenoimbricata (ten-oh-im-bri-kah-tuh) was an early echinoderm that looked a lot like a trilobite. It lived in the Cambrian, and the only two known specimens were found in Spain. It was described by researchers at the Natural History Museum of London and the University of Birmingham in 2012.Ctenoimbricata was teardrop shaped, with many flat, triangular feeding appendages in the front. Like modern marine detritivores, it may have used its feeding appendages to put sand into its mouth, sort out the food from the sand, and spit out the excess sand. I think it probably would have eaten a small marine worm if it happened to catch one, like today's deep sea sea cucumbers do.

Ctenoimbricata was only 20 millimeters long, so it needed to have defenses. These were in the form of spines all over its body, similar to modern sea urchins. It was also probably slow, like modern echinoderms, and used tube feet to move around. It had hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of these tube feet, which are tiny, clear, gooey sticks, often with a suction cup-like device on the bottom used for moving around.

Ctenoimbricata is a very important discovery because it is the oldest fossil that is definitely an echinoderm. The fossil was scanned and reconstructed, and the scientists found out it was bilaterally symmetrical, unlike other echinoderms, which have radial symmetry. This adds to the evidence that echinoderms and chordates may be related.

Note From the Typist

Art started writing this blog at age seven and completed the majority of the work before he turned nine. He did his own research and for a long time dictated the blog entries to me, his mother. I typed exactly what he said and did my best to spell everything correctly.

For a glimpse into the early blogging process, check out the video below.